Hula-hooper shares her skills as part of library's 'Tremendous Tuesdays'

Hula-hooper shares her skills as part of library’s ‘Tremendous Tuesdays’

Performer Judi Ann Jones first chose a correctly-sized hoop for each child. Photo by Alysa Auriemma.

Performer Judi Ann Jones first chose a correctly-sized hoop for each child. Photo by Alysa Auriemma.

Alysa AuriemmaReminder News

Hula-hooper Judi Ann Jones shares her skills as part of Manchester Public Library's 'Tremendous Tuesdays'

The Manchester Public Library promises some indoor fun and entertainment for families this summer. Every week, both branches of the Manchester Public Library will host a children's performer in order to provide educational, interactive entertainment.

On July 7, hula hoop performer Judi Ann Jones interacted with both children and adults during a "Tremendous Tuesdays" program at the Whiton Memorial Library. The series has proven to be popular. "The first week of Tremendous Tuesdays we had an LED juggler, and over 100 people came," said Leila Cancelliera, children's librarian at the Whiton Memorial Library. Some weeks are more interactive than others, but "it depends on the performer involved," Cancelliera said.

At the beginning of the event, Jones told the gathered children and their parents that her nickname was "The Energizer." After this, she lined up each child so she could size them to a specific hula hoop, thus ensuring no child would be stuck with a hoop too big or too small. Then, she instructed the kids with basic choreography while a variety of pop songs played, and gave them all specific choreography so they could keep the hula hoop around their waist to the beat of the song.

At one point, Jones even invited the parents to come to the floor and hoop, to the delight of their children. This is by design, as Jones aims to make hula hoops accessible to anyone. "I work with little kids in daycare centers, and I do performances with elderly Alzheimer's patients," said Jones after the event, which also saw her doing two solo performances with multiple, light-up hoops. "[Hula hooping] is something that appeals to both kids and adults."

Throughout the event, Jones stressed creative play and encouraged everyone to try their best, even when a hoop fell down, and called for the children to help and high-five each other when a hooping maneuver was successful. At the end of each song, she called for all attendants to applaud and called them "hoop heroes."

Jones has been "hooping" for seven years, and calls it "a valuable way to mix creative movement, dance, exercise, and play. The benefits are physical and mental."

The Manchester Public Library will welcome a Critter Caravan with a variety of small animals on July 28. "Tremendous Tuesdays" will be held at 3:30 p.m. at the Whiton Memorial Library and 6:30 p.m. at the Mary Cheney Library, with free admission. The "Tremendous Tuesdays" Grand Finale will be Aug. 13.

For more information on the Manchester Public Library and the "Tremendous Tuesdays" program, go to library.townofmanchester.org or call 860-643-2471 (Mary Cheney) or 860-643-6892 (Whiton).